For as long as I can remember, I’ve always had thick hair. I didn’t get my first perm until I moved to Georgia in 1995. From age 12 to age 21, I got a perm about once every 2 months. My decision to go natural came in August of 2004, during my last year at Dartmouth College (in Hanover, New Hampshire). There weren’t many places to get a perm so I taught myself how to perm my own hair. I was desperate for my hair to look what I considered nice, or “straight and permed”.

At the time, I only had one friend with natural hair. I loved the versatility of her hair. I realized that I was over-processing my hair when I put it into a high ponytail and couldn’t get the short hair on my neck to disappear into the rest of the hair. Going natural was really as simple as that for me. One day, I stopped by a mall salon and asked the stylist to cut my long hair into a short bob. I figured that if I wasn’t emotionally attached to my straight hair, I wouldn’t miss having a perm when I went natural. After transitioning for 6 months using kinky twists, I did my big chop in February of 2005. And I haven’t looked back since.

My 3 favorite products:

Oyin Handmade Burnt Sugar Pomade, Karen’s Body Beautiful Sweet Ambrosia Leave-in Conditioner (Vanilla Latte scent), and Oyin Handmade Honey Wash

3 favorite tools:

Huetiful Hair Steamer, Bobby pins, Detangling comb

3 favorite styles:

Chunky two strand twist-out, Roll, tuck, and pin with front bang, and mini-twists.

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